Community based participatory research in action: The experience of Project VOGUE

Issue: The House/Ball community is a subset of MSM at high risk for HIV due to unprotected anal sex and substance abuse within their closed social network. Specific HIV prevention interventions/programs have not targeted this population. More so, growing numbers of African-American and Latino MSM continually affiliate with House/Ball culture. The number of national organized “houses” grew from 35 to 50 in the last five years. The House/Ball community has also not been the target of focused interventions regarding participation in HIV vaccine clinical trials and other bio-medical research. Description: Project VOGUE is a 2-year, two part pilot initiative consisting of formative and ethnographic research; as well as the development of a comprehensive HIV prevention and HIV clinical trials awareness curriculum targeting members of the House/Ball community. Its goal is to provide effective harm reduction strategies to reduce their risk of contracting HIV/STIs and to decrease stigma regarding HIV vaccine research. CBPR principles underpinned the formation of the “Council of Houses” (COH) comprised of 15 local house ball community members as expert informants for Project VOGUE. Lessons Learned: Engaging the COH from the beginning was pivotal in getting buy-in and building trust among the target population. Supporting the COH social networking activities fostered further collaboration and has positively influenced HIV risk behavior social norms among Project VOGUE participants. Recommendations: CBPR methods should be used when attempting to engage hard to reach sub-populations of MSM. Collaborative partnerships between researchers, community-based organizations and at-risk MSM populations should be established and strongly encouraged.